Tulane AD: Devon Walker responsive after surgery

by Jim Halley, USA TODAY

Tulane senior defensive back Devon Walker is responsive following surgery on his fractured cervical vertebrae, but it's too early to draw any conclusions about his progress, Tulane athletics director Rick Dickson said Monday afternoon.

Tulane University via AP

Tulane athletics director Rick Dickson empahsized Monday that it was still too soon to draw any conclusions about Devon Walker's prognosis.

Tulane athletics director Rick Dickson empahsized Monday that it was still too soon to draw any conclusions about Devon Walker's prognosis.

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Dickson did not say if Walker was able to move on his own, other than to speak.

Walker was in stable condition and recovering in an intensive-care unit aftera three-hour operation Sunday to stabilize his spine at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. He was paralyzed after a helmet-to-helmet hit with a teammate during Tulane's game Saturday with Tulsa.

"We have been overwhelmed by the amount of concerned well wishes we have received from all over the world," Walker's parents, Inez and Booker, said in a statement. "Although we cannot respond individually to all, we thank everyone for the love and support shown to Devon and our family. The medical care that our son has received so far has been outstanding."

Dickson, who is from Tulsa, said he was able to use his connections to attend to Walker, even adding that he was wearing borrowed clothes so he could stay with Walker at the hospital.

"If something like this was ever going to happen, I was unbelievably grateful that it happened in my home town with assistance from everybody," Dickson said. "Every available resource and every top professional was made available to us."

He added it was likely Walker would be moved in the future back to New Orleans, which is his home town.

"It's probably too soon to make any decisions about those steps. Certainly at some point, we anticipate he'll be released for further treatment."